Changes
by TheChriZ1995
Summary: Kate made it back to Jasper in time to stop the packs from starting a war, which is what she wanted the most. Now she's set on marring Garth and uniting the packs to keep the peace. All should be well but there's one thing that she just can't get her mind off of...


**A/N: This is another song inspired one shot, this time featuring "Changes", an electronic track by Eminence & RedMoon. Listening to it is optional of course, enjoy.**

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It was just past midnight in Jasper Park, the moon shined above and a few clouds passed by in complete silence as the western pack slept. It was a typical quiet night for all but one wolf in particular, Kate. She had just recently returned from a long and difficult journey to get back home after being relocated elsewhere. She didn't do it alone though, one of her old friends from puppyhood was taken with her and through teamwork they managed to escape many dangerous situations along the way. Luckily they made it back safely, and just in time too. The western and eastern packs were on the verge of fighting due to her disappearance and how it got in the way of her completing her responsibility.

For many months there have been conflicts between the two packs due to a food shortage, war seemed to be unavoidable until the leaders of both packs finally agreed on a peaceful way to just unite rather than fight. The plan was to marry the western leader's daughter and eastern leader's son together to serve as the bond that would bring the two packs together. Kate was okay with this plan and agreed to go meet the wolf she would be wedded to. The plan was going smoothly for the leaders until Kate, along with Humphrey, suddenly disappeared. Immediately tensions rose between the packs to the point that there would be war if she did not return by the next full moon. But now everything is back on track, Kate has returned, and has agreed to marrying Garth as soon as possible, being the very next morning.

Now Kate lied in her parents den just looking up at the dirt and roots that covered the roof of the cave like home she had grown up in all her life. She knew that marrying Garth was the right thing to do; she would be doing the pack a service which was what her job was as an alpha. Yet for some reason she just couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that she was excited or anything, no she was far from that, she didn't know how to feel right now. Perhaps she wasn't sleepy because of all that has happened in the past week, there have been a lot of changes and she's just been along for the ride, but there was something more. And as she lied there in thought she couldn't help but feel guilt build up inside her.

The feeling confused her greatly, 'Why do I feel like I've let someone down?' She thought. She had done nothing mean to anyone; in fact the pack should be proud of her right now for the debt that she will be paying tomorrow. There was nothing that she could think of to explain why she would be guilty, and she needed an answer because it was keeping her awake. It felt like her body was being constricted to the point where each breath was heavy and all her thoughts were desperately trying to find a solution. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and decided to head outside and get some fresh air to maybe help clear her mind.

Upon entering into the silver moonlight she sat down at the edge of the overhang that stuck out from the den. The cool breeze did feel good against her fur as she looked across the infinite view that was before her. But this didn't seem to be helping her thoughts as she had hoped it would. Never had she been so confused by her own emotions before. There was nothing to be guilty about in her current situation, there was no one she would be letting down by marring Garth and uniting the packs as far as she knew. And as she was lost in her mind she missed hearing the sound of approaching paw steps behind her.

"Kate?"

Kate turned around to meet her father's gaze as he stood beside her. "What are you doing out here?" He asked in a calm tone.

"I just needed some fresh air; I'll come back in soon." She replied looking back out across the valley again. However her father knew something was wrong.

"Darling I can tell by your voice that something is wrong." He stated, sitting beside her. Kate didn't reply. "It's about tomorrow isn't it?"

She sighed "I don't know dad, for some reason I just feel like I've let someone down..." She said quietly.

Winston looked at her confused "What do you mean by that?"

"I just... don't know, I feel so guilty and I just can't figure out why"

There was a moment of silence as Winston tried to understand his daughter. "You didn't do anything that you regretted on your trip did you?" He asked.

"No nothing bad like that happened, the trip was great besides there being a few mishaps." She answered.

"How about tomorrow, do you regret having to marry Garth?" He said.

"No it's not that either, it's my responsibility to marry him and that just what I'm going to do for the good of the pack. This is why I can't sleep, the feeling is just too much and I need to find a solution."

Winston sighed "Well I'm sorry you feel this way right now, and your right it just doesn't make sense if you're okay with marrying Garth." He replied "Maybe you should go for a little walk, which helps me clear my mind when my job gets stressful."

"Maybe I will, thanks for trying to help though." She said hugging him.

He smiled "Well that's just one of my jobs as your father. I love you and want only the best for you."

"I love you too dad." She smiled back

"Now go on, don't worry about tomorrow, I can delay the wedding if you need to get some sleep in the morning." He said.

"Thanks again dad" And with that Kate got up and headed away from the den and out into the forest.

Where she was headed she had no idea, she just went where ever her paws carried her as she continued to think. But just as before, nothing new came to mind and it was causing her to get mad at herself now. 'How long will this feeling go on? I need to have a clear head tomorrow' She thought to herself. She walked on for around an hour until a sudden sound stopped her dead in her tracks. It was a sound any wolf would stop to at the sound of, the sound of a howl filled with sorrow. The note lasted several seconds before fading back into the silent night.

Kate wondered where that howl came from and more specifically who made it this late in the night. So she followed it as it became audible a couple more times, almost breaking into a sprint since it sounded close. She realized it was coming from howling rock and as she approached the base of the mountain her eyes fell upon the wolf that was making the howl. To her amazement it was the last wolf she expected to see howling like that, Humphrey...

Unknown to Kate, she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep tonight. Humphrey, who had accompanied her on the trip to Idaho, was in his own mix of emotions. However he actually understood them and was releasing them out into the cool night sky. He was depressed, upset, and angry all at the same time which was hard to believe given his nature of being a passive and loving omega. Ever since a young age he always saw Kate as more than a friend, they got along so well as pups and eventually as they grew older he realized he was falling in love with her. However it was forbidden love given that they were opposite ranks, and law prevented a relationship between them from ever working out. But that didn't stop him and during the trip to Idaho he and Kate got along so well and he thought that things would actually work out of them. Yet it was never meant to be as intended because as soon as he learned Kate would be marrying someone else his heart turned to stone.

What hurt the most to him was that Kate played it off like it wasn't a big deal, they even howled together during their trip, something that was forbidden at home, but apparently that meant nothing to her. Now Humphrey's world was collapsing around him and he needed to figure out what to do next, and so far all he wanted to do now was to howl out his emotions to the night sky in order to help himself feel better. Which actually worked since it's what he would normally do whenever he was upset about something.

Kate was astonished after hearing his howl yet again, and began to walk up the slope towards him in silence. His voice pulled her in much like it had back on the train, and she couldn't understand why. For some reason there was something about his voice that her subconscious seemed to love. Once she reached the ledge he sat upon she stopped and watched as he howled again, totally unaware of her presence. That is until she made it clear.

"Humphrey?" She called softly.

Humphrey immediately stopped and almost jumped out of his skin when he recognized the voice, his eyes met hers as he turned around to face the one who called his name.

"Kate? What are you doing out here?" He asked surprised, she was the last one he expected to see out this far tonight.

"I should ask you the same question" She replied walking up closer to him.

"Well I couldn't sleep so I'm just howling to the moon; I do it quite often actually." He lied, there was no way he would reveal the true reason why to her, especially now.

"Oh... because it sure sounds like your upset about something." She continued.

There was an ever apparent awkwardness as they talked, making it hard to believe that they were getting along so well severely hours ago. Humphrey sighed "I was just remembering my parents..." He stated plainly.

Kate was very familiar with Humphrey's past and she really felt bad for him when he first told her about his parents. Humphrey wasn't born in the western pack, but was adopted into the pack after his parents died from a cougar attack. It was the darkest day in his life and as a pup there were many times he broke down and cried when he remember his parents.

"You still haven't answered my question though" Humphrey said looking at her.

"I can't sleep either, so I've just been wandering the territory to clear my head. That is until I heard a howl and followed it here." Kate replied.

Humphrey understood and decided to help her even if he was upset at her about what had happened earlier. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

Kate nodded, this wasn't the first time Humphrey was there to comfort her. To Kate Humphrey was her best friend back when they were pups and that surly hasn't changed even though some things have come between them now. "I just have this feeling of guilt stuck inside me, I feel like I have let someone down..." She admitted.

Humphrey immediately realized that something was up; did she really care about him after all? However now he knew better then to just jump to conclusions, so he waited to hear her out. "How come?" He asked

"I don't know, and that's why I can sleep, because I don't know what I have done to feel this way." She replied, looking down at her paws.

"Is it because of your marriage tomorrow?"

"No, that's what my dad asked me earlier. I'm fine with having to marry Garth for the good of the packs. So it can't be that." She said

It all made more sense to him now, like the final piece of the puzzle, she was feeling guilty because she had let him down, her own best friend. Only she couldn't tell. She was lost in her emotions while being overwhelmed with the events of this past week. She did care about him but was too held up to see it. Humphrey knew that now was the time to admit his feelings towards her, it was so obvious that she had to feel the same way about him. At least that's what he hoped...

"I think I know why you feel that way Kate" He said.

She immediately looked up at him "You do?"

"Yes, you feel like you have let someone down because you have, you've let me down today Kate."

A look of confusion came across her face after he said that "How could I have let you down? I haven't done anything to hurt you, and never would I do such a thing." She said.

He sighed; she really was lost in her emotions. "You did by not telling me that you were going to marry Garth, maybe then I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to express my love to you." He said plainly to get his point across.

Her eyes widened, did he just say that he loved her? An omega, her own best friend loves her? "You love me?" She managed to say after a few seconds, his words have made her speechless.

"With every essence of my soul Kate, I've loved you since we were pups and I stopped at nothing to try and win your love even though I'm an omega." He noticed that she wasn't going to say anything more so he continued. "You're an amazing girl and I feel blessed to be in your presence whenever we hang out. I've always looked after you and put your needs before mine. You drive me crazy and I want nothing more than to just spend the rest of my life with you. I know you have to feel the same way because why else would you feel this way right now?"

Things began to click into place for Kate; she knew he was right because she always had this warm feeling whenever she was around him. She never understood why but she did, and now she could see what that feeling really meant. She did love him, and was guilty because she had lied to herself about not loving him and let him down because of it. She felt so stupid and amazed that she had failed to recognize this sooner, because if she had then maybe things would be different right now.

"I'm so sorry Humphrey; I didn't realize you felt that way about me..." She said, still trying to process everything.

Humphrey however knew that everything was falling into place, and could feel the pain inside him begin to ease away. But he wouldn't be happy yet until he got a straight answer from her about how she felt about him.

"I can forgive you Kate, but what I want to know is do you feel the same about me?" He said, getting closer to her.

Kate looked deep into his eyes as they looked at each other for what felt like forever. She could feel herself loosening up the longer she stared, as if his presence was easing her mind and clearing everything that has ever confused her. She knew her answer and now felt certain about it; she really had fallen in love with an omega.

"Yes Humphrey, I love you too. I may have not noticed it before but because of you it all makes sense now. There's a reason I get this soft feeling around you and I understand it to be love." She replied with a smile.

Humphrey couldn't help but smile as well, finally he had the girl of his dreams and she loved him back. So many emotions swelled within him that nothing could stop him from leaning in and kissing her. A feeling he had waited so long to feel and finally got to experience the right way. Kate was surprised at first but quickly sank into the feeling and kissed him back. She had no more regret; in fact it had disappeared quite some time ago. All she felt now was love and the need to express it towards Humphrey. This was what she wanted, even if it was sudden. Humphrey was the wolf for her, not some random wolf from another pack.

She couldn't help but cry after their kiss had ended, which confused Humphrey "Kate what's wrong?" He asked, slightly worried that he did something wrong.

"I just feel so stupid for not realizing this earlier and causing you to hate me because of it." She said as a tear ran down her cheek.

He placed his paw on hers before answering "Kate I would never hate you, I may have been upset about what happened earlier but never would I hate you. I forgive you."

She smiled for a moment but then it disappeared as she hugged him "I'm glad you can forgive me, but what are we going to do now? There's no way we can be together here, especially now."

"I don't know what we're going to do, but we need to do something. Whether it's trying to find a way to make it work here or running away together, as long as we're together I don't care."

"Same here, same here..." She replied, hugging him tighter.

Humphrey continued to hold her for a while as the night progressed onward. It was going to be morning soon and they were going to need rest if they were to confess their love to the pack tomorrow. Humphrey suggested that they head back to his den to rest before coming up with a plan in the morning. Kate agreed and followed alongside him already thinking of ways to get the pack to agree to their sudden love for one another. It's amazing how much has changed in the course of a night and Kate can hardly believe the sudden turn of events. But one thing is for sure, and that's that she is happy that now there is nothing between her and Humphrey. Now she can finally rest easy knowing that everything will turn out okay for her future with her love no matter what happens tomorrow...

**THE END**

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**A/N: Well originally I was going to write an ending that would fit in with the movies ending but I decided to just continue on a different path and end it like this. I seem to write a lot of stories based on the 'alternative ending' theme don't I? Oh well, I hope you enjoyed yet another one shot by me and maybe someday I'll get around to a bigger story. Cya!**


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